What Does Lafayette Department Store Mean To Hangzhou Department Store Industry?

Chen Huijun, executive director of Paris Lafayette (China) Co., Ltd., came to Hangzhou in a low-key manner at the beginning of the month. He did not say whether he was looking for suitable properties for Galeries Lafayette (China) Co., Ltd., but he did not hesitate to say that many olive branches had been extended to him, just "still picking".

Galeries Lafayette, located at No. 40, Ottoman Avenue, Paris, France, is called "Old Buddha" by Chinese people because it is a must see fashion pilgrimage to Europe.

It takes about 11 hours to fly from Paris to Hangzhou by air. However, for the two cities with high fashion degree, the new products of luxury brands such as Chanel, LV and Gucci are launched globally every season. From another perspective, the two cities are highly related in fashion.

A small incident a week ago has made this connection closer and has more room for imagination.

　　I. Fashion landmark jointly built by T Group and Lafayette Department Store in Beijing Financial Street

Chen Huijun, executive director of Paris Lafayette (China) Co., Ltd., came to Hangzhou in a low-key manner at the beginning of the month. He didn't say whether he was working for Paris the Buddha Department Store (China) Co., Ltd. is looking for suitable properties, but he does not hesitate to say that many olive branches have been extended to him, just "still picking".

Just two months ago, this global heavyweight department store announced its "China store opening plan". The first stop was Beijing. Xidan store has been settled, and Shanghai, Hangzhou, Tianjin and Chengdu are also in its plan.

This plan is 14 years away from the first visit to China and the dismal departure of Paris Foyer in 1997.

Fourteen years later, Galeries Lafayette Paris is facing a country where luxury consumption is growing at an alarming rate, a market that makes luxury brands full of blood, and a good opportunity for it to return to China.

For the colleagues in Hangzhou's department store retail industry, if Galeries Lafayette really comes to Hangzhou, it may be a change General merchandise industry What changes will this 150 year old legendary department store bring to Hangzhou's department store industry? Only time can give us answers. {page_break}

Lafayette Group revealed that it plans to settle in cities, including Hangzhou

On his trip to Hangzhou at the beginning of this month, although Chen Huijun did not disclose that he came here to select a site for Lafayette Paris (China) Co., Ltd., he said frankly that Hangzhou is indeed a city that Lafayette is "very interested in".

"In the public information of Lafayette Paris, there is only one store clearly at present, which is located in Lingjing Alley, Xidan North Street, Beijing." Chen Huijun said that the company spent one or two years in Beijing to select a site, and finally selected Xidan, which has the largest passenger flow. The mall covers an area of about 50000 square meters. Lafayette took the first floor underground to the fifth floor above the ground to operate department stores, Currently under preparation, it is tentatively scheduled to open in spring and summer of 2013.

If all goes well, Beijing Xidan Store will be the first direct department store of Lafayette in Asia, but this is just the beginning.

"We hope Xidan stores can radiate throughout Beijing, and Beijing stores can radiate throughout North China. These are our plans," said Chen Huijun.

Yes, Beijing is just the first stop for Lafayette to enter China, because Lafayette Group has disclosed that in the next 3-5 years, 10-15 Lafayette department stores will be located in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Macao, Tianjin, Chengdu and other cities besides Beijing.

At present, the Shanghai store is still in the process of actively selecting its location, but it is "inconvenient to disclose to the public" without signing the final contract. However, Chen Huijun said, "many commercial properties in different cities have found him, including Hangzhou. We hope to have further cooperation, but we are still slowly picking."

And Hong Kong I T Group operates together

In addition to the executive director of Paris Lafayette Department Store (China) Co., Ltd., Chen Huijun has another identity, that is, Hong Kong fashion clothing retailer 1. Managing Director of T Group.

Girls who often buy clothes are right about I T Group is no stranger. It has quite a few stores in Hong Kong, and the "multi brand, multi-level" business model is very popular among young people. In addition, as early as five or six years ago, I.T Group had followed the then Lane Crawford to open its stores in Hangzhou. Now it has settled in several department stores in Hangzhou. izzue, b+ab, i.t, etc. are all its stores.

"Because izzue is the only brand in China that has settled in Lafayette in Paris, and has a deep relationship with Lafayette." Chen Huijun said that since the cooperation in the European market has been quite good, Galeries Lafayette of France decided to cooperate with I T established a joint venture, Lafayette Paris (China) Co., Ltd., with 50% shares held by both parties, which is specially responsible for opening, operating and managing department stores under the Lafayette brand in major cities in mainland China.

Lafayette is obviously far sighted. It is more likely to choose a company that is so familiar with the domestic clothing retail market to cooperate, give play to their respective advantages, and jointly develop the high-end department store market in China in the mode of "European brand influence+Asian market experience".

Location&transportation, what kind of commercial property does Lafayette like best?

If he comes to Hangzhou, will he choose the Wulin Business District in the center of the city, or the rising Qianjiang New City?

Chen Huijun did not answer this question directly, but he said that "Lao Foye must have the best commercial property". The so-called "best commercial property" is location+transportation.

"We spent a long time to choose the location, and finally chose Xidan instead of Wangfujing for a reason. Because although the passenger flow in both places is very strong, the former is dominated by local guests in Beijing, while the latter is dominated by foreign tourists." Chen Huijun said that the location of Laofo's Beijing store is very golden, and there is a subway transfer nearby, so the transportation is very convenient.

If you choose commercial property in Hangzhou, Lafayette will prefer the traditional and mature business circle, and the transportation must be very convenient, which is the standard of Lafayette in selecting commercial property. Just like the Paris store of Galeries Lafayette opened in the most downtown area, the Beijing store is also the golden market entrance. It is obvious that this heavyweight department store hopes to settle in a mature business circle and has high requirements for customer flow.

However, for Galeries Lafayette, there are few large-scale commercial properties in Hangzhou at present. It will take some time to find a suitable place.

For Chinese Lafayette who transplanted DNA from its old store, "Buying Department Store" may be a sharp weapon

For many Chinese who go to Europe for shopping, Lafayette in Paris can be called the Holy Land of Fashion. The Eiffel Tower and Lafayette are almost the must see places in all the travel routes in Paris.

However, for a localized business like department store, it is not easy to open a hundred stores across the sea.

"Lafayette has a history of 150 years. The historical and cultural essence of France and the whole of Europe is deeply imprinted in this department store, and now it has become a publishing platform for European fashion trends. We will try our best to transplant its DNA, and of course it will also be suitable for the local market in China." Chen Huijun said.

Based on European culture and absorbing domestic excellent creative designer brands, it is a model that Laofo is very likely to adopt. Many of them adopt the buyer's department store system, while others are excellent modern brands at home and abroad.

In the interview, Galeries Lafayette did not mention how many luxury brands the department store should have, or how many international first tier and second tier brands there are... Instead, he proposed to build a department store with "Style".

"Style" means unique style and personality. For most domestic department stores with high similarity, it may mean a new way.

"The sales of domestic department stores are very high, and the business is very large, but there are not enough personalized department stores, so I think there is a lot of space." Chen Huijun said that some people said that Shopping Mall would be independent in the future, but he did not think so, as long as they have their own personality and provide customers with interesting things, department stores Outlets、 The fourth generation commercial entities will be very marketable.

Hearing that Mr. Lafayette is coming to Hangzhou, senior people in department store retail also have some expectations: "If Mr. Lafayette can come to Hangzhou, it is also a good thing for local department stores. If he meets excellent competitors, he will fully stimulate his potential."

After Lafayette, will more foreign department stores enter Hangzhou?

In fact, when Lafayette announced its "China store opening plan", it was rumored that Harrods, an old luxury department store in Britain, would also settle down in Shanghai, while Aeon Department Store in Japan seemed to be interested in Hangzhou's Qianjiang New City. The boss came to Hangzhou many times to see the property, and Fifth Avenue also came to China to find a partner

While all luxury brands have settled in China in the shortest time, the head of foreign-funded department stores is clearly speeding up.

According to a recent market survey by the World Luxury Association, the overseas luxury consumption of Chinese people has become the first in the world. From March 2010 to March 2011, the World Luxury Association investigated the consumption data of luxury goods businesses in major regions of France, Italy and the United Kingdom, and found that more than 65% of the effective purchase data were Asians, of which 75% were Chinese.

According to other data, Asians spent 69 billion dollars on luxury goods in the European market last year, while Chinese people spent nearly 50 billion dollars. Take Lafayette Paris as an example. Many Chinese tourists spend a lot of money there, with an average per capita consumption of 30000 to 40000 yuan. Another data shows that more than 10% of Lafayette Group's revenue comes from Chinese tourists. {page_break}

This is also an important reason why Lafayette, Harrods and other old luxury department stores have planned to enter Hangzhou, China.

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About Galeries Lafayette

It was born in 1893. At that time, Cousin The opia Bader and Alphonse Kahn decided to open a new department store on the corner of Lafayette Road, which is near the Paris Opera House. Since then, Lafayette has successively bought No. 1 Lafayette Road, No. 38, 40 and 42 Osman Avenue, and No. 15 Chause e d "Antin Road, and the properties under Lafayette Department Store have gradually expanded.

In 1912, when Lao Foye was re unveiled, it made a sensation with its luxurious decoration like a palace. Under the Byzantine style giant carved gold dome, the people who come and go are graceful, like going to a medieval party, and shopping has really become a kind of enjoyment.

About Hong Kong I T Group

Hong Kong I T Group was founded in 1988, and I.T Limited was listed in Hong Kong in 2005 (share number: 999). It is a pioneer in leading the fashion retail market. Through the "multi brand, multi-level" business model, I.T provides customers with a series of clothing products.

The Group sells hundreds of clothing products of international brands, self created brands and licensed brands at different retail prices to attract different customer groups. The leading fashion retail company with more than 500 stores in Asia has developed into one of the largest fashion groups in Hong Kong.